The present invention relates to a motorized railway vehicle having a truck with at least two air-cooled electric traction motors coupled to shafts of the truck, and more particularly, to an air-cooling system for such electric traction motors.
In motorized railway vehicles, a number of trucks each having air-cooled electric traction motors are provided to propel the vehicle. As a rule, the axle of each wheel pair of a truck is coupled to an electric drive traction motor by means of a gear reduction set. In order to obtain high power within a limited motor volume, the electric traction motors are usually fan-cooled and each is provided with a cooling air fan and a cooling air channel for providing cooling air to the fan. However, the available space for cooling air channels in a railway vehicle is limited and drawing air through these channels may involve various problems. If the motors are not cooled by proper operation of the air-cooling system, rapid overheating of the motors occurs and ultimately, cause damage to the motors. Therefore, the electric traction motors should not be utilized if the cooling system, particularly the cooling fan for the cooling system, is inoperative.